Curtain stick and guide



(No Model.)

' G. I.. BAILEY 8u W. W. COLE. CURTAIN STICK AND GUIDE. I

' No. 468,861', Patented 1161)..16, 1892.

UNITED VSTATES GILBERT L.BAILEY AND VARREN WV. COLE, OF PORTLAND, MAINE.

IPATENT Orrick,

CURTAIN STICK AND GUIDE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N o. 468,861, dated February 16, 1892. Application filed September 15, 1891. Serial No. 405,817. (No model.)

ing 7 an upright guide-strip 8, T-shaped in cross-section, is fixed,l rIn this guide-strip the .To all whom t may concern.-

Beit known that we, GILBERT L. BAILEY and WARREN l. COLE, citizens of the United States, residing at Portland, in the county of Cumberland and State of Maine, have invented a new and useful Curtain-Stick, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to improvements in curtain sticks and guides for car and other window curtains.

The objects of our invention are, first, to provide suitable guides for holding the lower end of a car-window curtain in place when drawn down; second, to allow it to move up and down freely under all circumstances, and, third, by making it automatically extensible to prevent the accidental displacement of the curtain-stick from its guides while being raised or lowered.

Heretofore in order to operate a curtain constructed with a stick held in place by guide-strips it has been necessary to raise the curtain by lifting at the center of the stick to prevent its binding in the guides, thus interfering with its free action, or to prevent the ends of the stick from being thrown out of the grooves in which they travel. By our invention this necessity is entirely obviated, as the most careless person can raise or lower the curtain from any point of contact, as it will yield readily to the touch and cannot bind or be lifted from the guides. This we accomplish by mechanism illustrated by the accompanying drawings, in Which- Figure l is a front elevation showing a section of the window-frame with the curtainstick in its normal position and also when one end is raised. Fig. 2 is a sectional plan view showing the fixed guide in cross-section and also the connection between the traveling andk fixed guides and window-frame. c

Similarguresrefertosimilarpartsthroughout the two views,

In the drawings, 4 is a curtain-stick made tubular in form, preferably of metal. A guide-rod 5 is inserted in each end of the tubular stick 4, having a loose t, so that it will move freely therein. On the outer end of said rod is iixed a traveling guide or head 6, projecting from the tubular stick, having a suitable opening at its outer end.

On the inside of the window frame or casbody of the T forms the base by lwhich it is securedtothe window-frame, while the toppart stands out from the frame and is inclosed by traveling guide 6, the openingin which is so formed as to admit of its traveling up and down freely on said upright guide, but not of being accidentally detached therefrom, and at the same time hold the lower end of the curtain, to which stick 4 may be attached, from swaying out and in or iiapping. It is obvious that the form of upright guide 8, as well as traveling guide 6, may be varied as desired, and we do not mean to confine ourselves to the particular form described. This curtain-stick is intended to be used in connection with a balance-spring roller, and a weight to counterbalance the tension of the spring in the roller is att-ached.. to the lower end of the curtain, whereby said curtain may be adjusted to any desired height by lifting or pulling down on said stick.

Its operation is as follows: Vhen the curtain is raised by lifting at the center of the curtain-stick, both ends are carried up togetheralong the upright guides; but when suddenly lifted at one end that end rises faster than the other and guide-rod 5 is drawn out of the tubular stick, as shown in broken lines in Fig. 1,thus lengthening the same and accommodating itself to the increased distance between the two upright guides along the line of said stick, which permits the travcling guides to work freely on the fixed guides without binding, and as the lower end of the curtain resumes its normal position, asit will quickly do by the action of the spring in the roller to which it may be attached, guide-rod 5 moves back to its original position within the tubular stick. It will be seen that this arrangement in effect makes an automatic eX- tension curtain-stick and allows the curtain to be raised by lifting at any point withoutl binding or displacement. We are aware that approximately the same result may be obtained by using the movable guide-rod in one end of the curtain-stick only and .securing the traveling guide directly to the other end, but think it more desirable to use one at each end.

W'e are aware of the inventions in this line IOO of William H. Paulding, patented July 10,

1883; Nicholas Slingland, patented April 8,l

1884;'James Denver, patented July 10, 1884,

' and H. L. Hall, patented June 2,1891, and do each of said rods, adapted to securely einbrace and move upon upright guides on a window-frame, whereby said curtain may be readily adj usted by manipulation at any point in the length of said stick and whereby said stick is automatically extended to accommodate itself to the varying angles at which it may be placed between said upright guides while being adjusted, substantially as herein described.

GILBERT L. BAILEY. WARREN w. OOLE.

Vitnesses:

FRANK. S. BEAL, GEORGE H. BROOKS. 

